US Hawks Hang Gliding Association

This topic thread invites the collecting and discussion of various rigs for gaining some experience with hanging from a tether and operating a triangle control frame. Intended is a wide and comprehensive review of what has been done. Also, what may yet be done. Bring in other equipment as found, say simulators for visual context. Note the safety matters surrounding rigs. Include very simple arrangements; and cover the complex also. If studies have been made about the effectiveness of a rig for advancing hang gliding, then references are welcome. Guesses about effectiveness are great, but studies and experiments may be really helpful.

Explore harnesses and mods to harnesses. Explore changing positions. What works? What is uncomfortable? Why?

Perhaps help design experiments to help find out just how a certain rig affects people on their way to joyous safe hang gliding. Maybe some rigs will have features that could be improved. Some rigs might be better left without anyone using them. Etc. Does Rig46 really help or not, etc.?

What in other non-HG realms have something to offer this topic? What have they learned?

Specialized tasks:
Add instruments? Practice fetching rescue chute? Involve communications? Have a list of challenges for practicing. Adjusting things? Fetching things? Watching out for other things in the airspace (dust, birds, aircraft, bees, other HGs, parachutes). Place things on the ground (miniature cities, model trees, model maps, maps, ... ).

Endurance and other challenges:
What happens when one is hanging for 5 minutes or 1 hour? Circulation observation. Exercise? Heat and cooling? Clothes choices? Relief systems? Tuffs? Tell-tails? Picture of mom? Placard? Text for last rites? ID? Cash? Plan B and C? Retrieval? Incident list for mindful review? Identification? What will go on a flight? Camera operations? Meters? Etc. Have fun posting rigs for practicing in a HG cockpit. What has been your story? Do you have an idea for this topic?

The most uncomfortable harness my hang gliding friend and I ever used was a Moyes Water Harness for boat towing.
Past posted stories by me here at the US Hawks have mentioned that either Don Ray would be up for his hour on the soaring ridge or I would be up for my hour on the ridge. The reason for the one hour time limit was due to the Water Torture Harness.

A Quarter inch thick wetsuit tunic under the Water Torture Harness (WTH) made a one hour flight j-u-s-t possible. (If you were trying to prove something.)
During an hours flight Don or I would swing vertical and stand on the foot spreader bar of the WTH. This action would stave off gangrene of the extremities.

This WTH was an excellent choice if you were concerned that flying would be too much fun.

Great note, BillC. Thanks.
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Discussions are invited to have artificial-flight simulation rigs from most simple swing to more advanced rigs.

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Add in VG practice.
And tow-release practice.
And line-cutting practice.
And detaching practice.
and ??
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Swing seat harnesses? Getting in, practicing in artificial hang situation? Getting out?

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Dropping out deliberately?

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This is very timely for me because I'm in the process of hanging in my new Blue Sky harness and experimenting with the upper shoulder rope position. I'm looking for the best rigging for my more vertical position in short beach flights where I won't be going prone and also looking for more ease of pulling forward during launch run..

Today i plan to take photos of what i'm doing with this harness' rigging.

F Colver

Here is a video of my adjustments to the Blue Sky training harness to use it for short duration HG flying. This puts me in a more upright position when making Beach dune flights at places like Dockweiler or small hills. I'm changing the rigging of the harness from the way it came from the manufacturer, rigged as a simple prone harness, to a more sitting type harness.

https://vimeo.com/134146094

Sorry about the poor quality of the audio.

Frank Colver

For some reason the Vimeo link isn't working when I pasted it in my previous posting.

Try it again here or if it still doesn't work, I suggest copying it and pasting into the URL bar on your browser.

https://vimeo.com/134146094

Frank

Permission denied.

It somehow got switched to "private" in the settings. I didn't look for that right away because I knew I had set it for "viewing by anyone". If this happens again I'll look at the settings first.

It should work now. Please let me know if it still isn't view-able.

https://vimeo.com/134146094

FC

FC,
The PM click-able link worked for me. Looks like you are rigged for the beach. Make Bob be a Sherpa.

Great! I think it will continue to work now.

I think this rigging of the harness would be very good for Joe F's flat ground "wing running" exercises also. The shoulder position of the ropes, as I mentioned in the video, make it a lot easier to prevent the angle of attack going too high by providing more leverage.

Frank